Mission of the library: Highlights

The mission of the library is to house collections, conserve them, and make them available to the public (especially the copies of works published in France that must, by law, be deposited there). It produces a reference catalogue, cooperates with other national and international establishments, and participates in research programs.

History: Highlights

The library was formally established in 1792 but it traces its origin to the royal library founded at the Louvre by Charles V in 1368. By 1896, the library was the largest repository of books in the world.

History: Explained

The origin of the library dates back to 1368, when the royal library was established at the Louvre by Charles V. It was expanded under Louis XIV and opened to the public in 1692. During the radical phase of the French Revolution the private libraries of aristocrats and clergy were seized and the library’s collections increased to over 300,000 volumes. After a series of regime changes in France, it became the Imperial National Library and in 1868 it was moved to newly constructed buildings designed by Henri Labrouste on the Rue de Richelieu -the longest street in Paris that used to be very fashionable at that time. several years later the library was further expanded, including the grand staircase and the Oval Room, designed by academic architect Jean-Louis Pascal. By 1896, the library had become the largest repository of books in the world. although it has since been surpassed by other libraries for that title
On the 14th of July 1988, President François Mitterrand announced the construction and expansion of one of the largest and most modern libraries in the world, intended to cover all fields of knowledge. It was designed to be accessible to all, using the most modern data transfer technologies, which could be consulted from a distance, and which would collaborate with other European libraries. Because of its high-rise design the construction of the library caused some technical difficulties and cost overruns. After moving the major collections, the National Library of France was inaugurated on the 15th of December 1996.
Each year the library’s collection is increased by about 120,000 works, more than 1.3 million newspaper issues and periodical publications and almost 30,000 audiovisual documents.

General Information

For those who like reading, as well as for those who are doing a research in some field Paris has something special to offer- its library. The national library of France, Bibliothèque nationale de France, contains an enormous collection of over 30 million items, including books, newspapers, manuscripts, images, coins and audiovisual materials.

Collection: Highlights

The library contains an enormous collection of over 30 million items, including books, newspapers, manuscripts, images, coins and audiovisual materials. The library holds also about 5,000 Greek manuscripts and the digital library (also known as Gallica) made available on the Web over 4 million items.